Musings Of A Shliach From Montana
By: Rabbi Chaim Bruk
Rabbi Chaim with Zeesy and Chana Laya in the fire truck at the Fire Station
In small town USA there is a great deal of respect for law enforcement for those who serve as first responders during an emergency. When we see an emergency vehicle with lights and sirens, everyone pulls over and a runway is created for them to reach their destination swiftly. It’s kind of nice that appreciation and respect are still part of our daily lives out West.
It so happens that we live in an area of Bozeman where the fire station is wholly staffed by volunteers. All the firefighters, including the chief, have full-time jobs in addition to their community service. Once a year they host a community barbecue where you can bring your kids, enjoy great food (not for us since it’s treif), get souvenirs, learn about search and rescue, and have a chance to ride the firetruck and learn how to make your home safe from fires by touring the mobile “fire house” with two firefighters guiding us through. It reminds us of the basics: making sure that our windowsills are clear, teaching our kids when and how to 911, how to find and operate a fire extinguisher, what not to put near the stove, how to climb out the window (which was particularly fun for me), and more.
Menny was playing football, Chavie was in New York, Chaya is back in Chicago, and Shoshana runs her own life, so I took Chana Laya and Zeesy over to the Fort Ellis Fire Station and I’m glad that I did. I loved how captivated they were and I was happy to make a donation on behalf of our family and our Chabad Center, so they can keep doing their important work with the proper equipment. The entire experience reminded me of how important small details are when it comes to saving lives. It reminded me to reassess our home to be a bit safer. We often minimize the importance of detail, but detail is often the most important part of success. As codes change and forest fires become more frequent, we learn to adjust our homes to keep them up to code and safe for our families.
Self-inspections and reassessments are a good thing.
It was interesting that the barbecue came just three days after I underwent my first-ever colonoscopy. Hear me out: I am 43 years old, two years younger than the age recommendation for this test. Yet, unlike Chavie, I am a natural hypochondriac, so when my friend Chaim told me that many chevra in our age group are getting the test earlier because there were people in our age group who were diagnosed with this dreaded disease, it got me thinking. Then, about a year ago, I was chatting with my buddy Ari and he “randomly” started pleading with me to get it done ASAP. I was sold.
It’s not exciting to get one of these procedures and the prep isn’t fun at all, but colon cancer is a silent killer, so it’s a small price to pay for something that can save lives. I’m not a doctor, but I would like to recommend to all of you to make sure to get tested to ensure that you have Arichus Yomim V’Shanim Tovos
Baruch Hashem, the procedure was a success. Two little polyps were removed and the doctor, who was excellent, told me to come back in five years. While waiting to be discharged, I started pondering how the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are like undergoing a spiritual colonoscopy. While Rosh Hashanah is the Day of Judgment, when Hashem inspects our spiritual health, looking for “sinful polyps” that may be obstructing our system, or any unhealthy buildup that is in need of cleansing before it gets worse, Yom Kippur is the day on which the doctor, Hashem, removes the pre-cancerous or cancerous cells and beseeches us to start a new healthy slate.
Spiritual colonoscopies aren’t fun, but it must happen to ensure that we remain wholesome and holy.
Physically, we can keep our colon healthier by eating food with higher fiber, staying hydrated all the time, eating less red meat, exercising often, and staying away from processed foods. And spiritually, it’s the same. Instead of just showing up on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur hoping that everything gets cleared up between us and Hashem, it’s important to stay spiritually healthy all year round, doing our part to refrain from sin, and increasing positive actions. Einstein said that “insanity is doing the same thing, over and over but expecting different results” and it’s true. We should want the Days of Awe to impact us in such a way that next year we show up differently. And if so, what are we willing to do moving forward to stay connected to Hashem without soiling our soulfulness?
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are about clearing up the past, but also about resolving to make the upcoming year one of more productivity, more meaning, more holiness, more kindness, more spirituality, more introspection, less strife, less frivolity, less news consumption, less unhealthy eating, less impurity, less phone scrolling, less negativity. That was the message of the firefighters: it’s always a good time for the inner inspection of our lives, checking to see where our spiritual fire extinguisher is located so we can extinguish the inappropriate fires, checking the windowsills to ensure that we know our escape route when the temptations are too powerful, making sure the path is clear of obstacles, and doing everything in our power to ensure that our home is a “bayis neeman b’Yisrael.”
I’m grateful that my friends encouraged me to get a colonoscopy, and I’m glad that it taught me a vital lesson: Take inventory, make sure nothing is growing in your body or soul that could be problematic, and if something shouldn’t be there, clean it out before it turns into a much bigger ailment.
Have an easy fast and meaningful Yom Kippur. n
Rabbi Chaim Bruk is co-CEO of Chabad Lubavitch of Montana and spiritual leader of The Shul of Bozeman. For comments or to partner in our holy work, e-mail [email protected] or visit JewishMontana.com/Donate.
